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B. BROWER.

LETTER PILE CABINET.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BLOOMFIELD BROWER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LETTER-FILE CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming, part of Letters Patent No. 490,099, dated January17, 1893.

Application filed May 3l, 1890- Serial No. 353,803. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BLooMFIELD BRowER, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-File Cabinets,fully described and represented in the following specication and theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to a device for causing the simultaneous lockingand unlocking of a plurality of tiers or rows of letter tiles or drawersin a cabinet or closet. It has heretofore been common to provide asingle row or tier of letter files or drawers with a lookin g device,consisting usually of a strip hinged to the same, which in one position,locks all the letter files or drawers in the row and which, when movedfrom that position, unlocks the same. Where the cabinet contains anumber of such rows or tiers each provided with thel locking andunlocking device referred to, each row or tier would have to beseparately locked and unlocked.

It is the object of the present invention to so connect the severallocking devices that the several rows or tiers in the cabinet may besimultaneously locked and unlocked by the movement of the locking stripof one of the rows into position for locking or unlocking that row.

To this end the invention consists, in its preferred form and in theform in which it will be hereinafter described,in the provision of a rodhaving a swinging connection to the several locking strips of aplurality of tiers or rows, whereby upon the movement of any one of thelocking strips into or out of its locking position, the locking stripsof the other rows or tiers will be similarly moved, and by which, whenthe locking strip provided with a lock and key or other locking meanshas been locked in position to prevent the Withdrawal of the letterfiles or drawers in its tier or row the fastening strips of the otherrows or tiers will be similarly locked in position to prevent thewithdrawal of the letter files or drawers in their respective rows ortiers.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is 5o a front elevation of aletter file cabinet hav ing two rows or tiers of letter tiles providedwith fastening strips embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is avertical section of the same'on the line 2-2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;*and Fig. 4 is a viewsimilar to Fig. l showing the locking strips in position for locking theletter files of the two rows or tiers.

Referring to said drawings it will be understood that A is an ordinaryletter le cabinet and B its letter files,two rows or tiers of which areshown in the present case, although it is to be understood that theimprovements of the present invention are equally applicable to a letterfile cabinet in which a greater number of rows or tiers of letter iilesare employed than are illustrated in the present case.

The letter iiles B slide in and out of the cabinet A upon shelves b eachprovided with a hand opening c for the purpose of permitting the hand tobe inserted beneath the letter i'le to withdraw it from the case whendesired. The two rows of letter files B' are separated by a partition Oextending from the base to the top of the cabinet. The partition O hashinged to it a strip D extending from the base of the cabinet A to thetop of the same, which, when in the position in which it is illustratedin Fig. l, offers no obstruction to the withdrawal of the letter [iles Bof the let't hand row in the cabinet A, but which, when moved from thatposition into the posi- `tion in which it is illustrated in Fig. 4 andlocked in that position, either by lock and key or in any other suitablemanner, will prevent the withdrawal of any of the letter iiles in thatrow or tier. The right hand row or tier of letter files B is providedwith a similar locking strip E hinged to the side of the cabinet A,which, when in the position in which it is illustrated in Fig. l, willpermit the withdrawal of the letter files Bin that tier or row, butwhich, when moved into the position in which it is illustrated in Fig. 4will prevent such withdrawal. One of the strips D orE (D as shownherein) is provided with an ordinary lock g (see Figs. 2 and 4) by whichit is locked to the cabinet Ain its opened and closed positions, theemployment IOO of a lock upon inore than one strip for this purposebeing rendered unnecessary by the improvements of the present invention,as will hereinafter appear.

The locking strips D E are each provided with a pin or stud a enteringau opening provided in a rod F. This connection between the strips issuch that upon the movement or locking and unlocking of one of saidstrips the other of said strips will be correspondingly moved or lockedand unlocked, the lnovement of the one being imparted to the otherthrough the connecting rod F, said rod upon the locking of one of saidstrips also preventing the movement of the other strips and thussimilarly locking the latter, the two rows or tiers of letter les B orany other number of rows or tiers provided in the cabinet being thussimultaneously locked and unlocked by the locking or unlocking of thelocking strip of any one of the rows.

The two locking strips D andE will preferably be so hinged to thecabinet that their upper and lower ends will lie within the overhangingtop and the base of the cabinet, as illustrated in Fig. 2, or they maybe hinged in recesses formed in the cabinet. The object of thuspositioning the strips is to prevent their removal from their hinges,when in their locked position, for the purpose of unlocking the letterles; this positioning of the strips also preventing the removal of theconnecting rod F from the strips for the same purpose.

The operation of locking the two rows or tiers of letter files Bprovided with the strips D E and connecting rod F, is as follows: Whenthe strips D E are in the position in which they are illustrated in Fig.l the letter files B of the two rows in the cabinet are unlocked, andany Que of the letter iles may be withdrawn from the case. Vhen it isdesired to lock the letter files of the two rows or tiers, the lockingstrip D will be moved by hand from the position in which it isillustrated in Fig. l to the position in which it is illustrated inFigxt and locked in that position by a lock g entering the base of thecabinet or in any other suitable manner. During this movement of thestrip D the rod F will be moved toward the left, and the locking stripE, by reason of its connection to the rod F will also be moved intoposition to lock its row or tier of letter files, as shown in Fig. 4.The locking strips will also preferably be provided with means forlocking them against movement in their unlocked position consistinginthe present case of the lock g, the bolt of which, in this position ofthe strip, enters an opening at the proper point in the base of thecabinet, as illustrated in Fig. 2. It will thus be seen that by thusconnecting the locking strips of the two rows or tiers of letter filesthe letter files of both rows may be locked or unlocked simultaneouslyand by the movement by the hand of but one of the strips, whichmovement, through the connecting rod F, is communicated to the otherfastening strip, which is then similarly moved; and that the employmentof but one lock and key or other securing device, upon one of the stripsD or E, is all that is necessary to lock all the letter files in thecabinet.

It is obvious that the connecting rod F instead of being connected tothe top of the strips D and E' as shown, may be connected to otherportions of the strips, as for example, at their lower ends.

It will be obvious that this invention, although herein illustrated andheretofore described as applied to a letter iile cabinet, is equallyapplicable to other uses. It will be understood therefore, that theterms letter le cabinet and letter file used in such description and inthe accompanying claims are intended to include such other applicationsof which the present improvements are capable. It will also beunderstood that where the term plurality of tiers is employed, it ismeant to include either a number of tiers or rows each containing anumber of letter files or drawers and each tier or row having a lockingdevice, or a single tier or row containing a number of such letter lesor drawers each of which is provided with a locking device such asillustrated, all of such locking devices being connected and operated asheretofore described, or any number of sets of tiers or rows arrangedhorizontally or one above the other the fastening strips of each setbeing suitably connected to the fastening strips of the others and thefastening strips of each set being connected together substantallyasheretofore described.

What I claim is:

l. In a letter file cabinet, the combination of a plurality of letterfiles, a plurality of independently mounted locking strips thereof andconnections between said locking strips whereby upon the movement orlocking and unlocking of one of said strips all of said strips aresimultaneously moved or locked and u'nlocked, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a letter iile cabinet, the combination of a plurality of tiers ofletter files, a locking strip for each tier, and connections betweensaid locking strips whereby upon the Inovement or locking and unlockingof one of said locking strips all of said strips are simultaneouslymoved or locked and unlocked, substantially as described.

3. In a letter file cabinet, the combination of a plurality of tiers ofletter tiles, a locking strip for each tier, and a rod connected to saidlocking strips, whereby upon the movement or locking or unlocking of oneof said strips all of said strips are simultaneously moved or locked andunlocked, substantially as described.

4. In a letter file cabinet, the combination with a plurality ofklocking strips hinged to my hand in the presence of two subscribing thecabinet, of the rod F, and connections be- Witnesses. tween each of saidlocking strips and the rod F consisting of a pin or stud e upon the for-BLOOMFIELD BROVVER 5 mer entering an opening in said rod, substan-Witnesses:

tially as described. T. H. PALMER,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set FRANK KEHOE.

It is hereby certified. that in Letters Patent No. 490,099, grantedJanuary 17, 1893, upon the application of Bloomfield Brower, of NewYork, N. Y., for an improvement in Letter-File Galoinets,77 an errorappears in the printed specification requiring the following correction,viz.: In line 108, page 2, the word thereof should read therefor; andthat the said Letters Patent should be read. with this correctiontherein that the same may conform to the record ofthe case in the PatentOffice. Y

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 31st day of January, A. D. 1893.

[SEAL] GYRUS BUSSEY,

. Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Gountersigned W. E. SIMONDS,

Commissioner of Patents.

